Rand Paul wants to run for US president and senator at the same time

Hoping to fall back on Plan B should his presidential aspirations fizzle, US Senator Rand Paul is seeking legislation that would allow him to run for reelection and for president simultaneously.

According to the Washington Times, Paul (R-Ky.) has asked
Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer to look into
proposals that would ensure he can run for both offices at the
same time.

“Yes, I am working on clarifying an ambiguous state law that
Rand Paul believes is unconstitutional if it is interpreted to
bar running for re-election to the Senate and for president at
the same time,” Thayer said to the Times on Monday. “The
purpose of the bill will be to make clear that Rand Paul or
anyone in a similar situation in Kentucky can run for both
offices in the same year.”

Paul has been floated as a possible Republican presidential
candidate since the end of the 2012 election, and this news
suggests the senator continues to explore the possibility of
running. He has yet to commit himself to the idea, though just a
few months ago he acknowledged he was “seriously thinking
about it.”

"The thought has crossed my mind,” Paul said on “Fox
News Sunday" in December. “I am seriously thinking about it,
but I'm also very serious about family considerations … I'll just
keep doing the things I want to do and, I think, what the people
of Kentucky elected me to do. I just am not ready to make a
decision yet.”

A law permitting Paul to run for two seats at the same time
wouldn’t be completely out of the ordinary. As noted by the
Times, politicians in multiple states have done so before,
including current Vice President Joe Biden, who was a Democratic
senator from Delaware before being elected alongside President
Barack Obama.

Still, there’s no guarantee such a proposal would actually pass
with support from Democrats, who control the state House of
Representatives. State House Speaker Greg Stumbo (D) has
reportedly said he would not allow such a measure to pass.

As for Paul, the first-term senator has made a name for himself
since he first arrived on Capitol Hill as a Tea Party and
libertarian favorite. A social and economic conservative, Paul as
diverted from traditional Republican positions on defense and
civil liberties, where he has criticized the use of drones
overseas and the National Security Agency’s bulk surveillance
program.